DISSERTATION RESEARCH: Cooperation and Conflict within Reproductive Coalitions of Wild Turkeys (Meleagris Gallopavo)

野生火鸡繁殖联盟中的合作与冲突：WART D.KoenigCo-PI：Eileen A.Lacey博士生：Alan H.KrakauerMales野生火鸡在繁殖季节形成稳定的联盟，合作追求雌性火鸡。这种合作行为令人费解，因为雄性对雌性的竞争非常激烈。该项目将确定雄性火鸡联盟之间的遗传联系，并全面了解将从属雄性火鸡留在群体中的好处。所使用的理论框架将是生殖扭曲理论，这是一个快速发展的领域，试图解释生殖是如何在社会群体中分割的。地位较低的雄性可能通过直接繁殖、通过帮助相关群体成员的间接繁殖或在未来某个时候继承优势地位来获利。生殖偏差模型提供了定量预测，以确定这三种好处的哪种组合对男性联盟的形成和维持至关重要。这些预测将通过结合加州中部沿海自由放养的野生火鸡种群的行为和遗传数据来检验。

DDIG: Cooperation and Conflict within Reproductive Coalitions of Wild TurkeysCo-PI: Walter D. KoenigCo-PI: Eileen A. LaceyDoctoral student: Alan H. KrakauerMales wild turkeys form stable coalitions during the breeding season that cooperatively court females. This cooperative behavior is puzzling because of the intense competition among males for females. The project will determine genetic relatedness among coalitions of male turkeys and provide a comprehensive view of the benefits keeping subordinate males in groups. The theoretical framework used will be reproductive skew theory, a rapidly evolving field that seeks to explain how reproduction is partitioned within social groups. Low status males may profit through direct reproduction, through indirect reproduction by helping a related group member, or by inheriting the dominant position at some time in the future. Reproductive skew models provide quantitative predictions to determine what combination of these three benefits are important for the formation and maintenance of male coalitions. These predictions will be tested by combining behavioral and genetic data on a free-ranging wild turkey population in central coastal California.